


5 Women Who Changed Stefan Salvatore's Life

by lit_chick08



Category: Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-06
Updated: 2011-12-06
Packaged: 2017-10-27 00:12:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/289430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lit_chick08/pseuds/lit_chick08
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stefan has always preferred the company of women.</p>
            </blockquote>





	5 Women Who Changed Stefan Salvatore's Life

**Author's Note:**

> vague spoilers from “The Pilot,” “162 Candles,” and the Klaus story arc

**1\. Gianna Salvatore**

There was no one in the world Stefan loved more than his mother.

For as long as Stefan could remember, Damon had fought with their father. Sometimes it was quiet defiance, occasionally it turned into shouting and screaming, more often than not it ended with a switch, but what it meant for Stefan was he spent a great deal of time with Giuseppe. When Damon was home, he almost always retreated into whatever room Gianna was in, and Stefan would find them, speaking in the rapid fire Italian Giuseppe insisted they limit.

Stefan was not a jealous person by nature but it made him ache, the bond Damon had with their mother. When he was feeling particularly uncharitable, Stefan would pout that Damon had Gianna to himself for eight years; there had been four dead babies between Damon and Stefan, and sometimes Stefan wondered if his brother was bitter he had come along to usurp his position as the only Salvatore son.

But then Stefan would realize how terribly unfair he was being to his big brother, whom he loved, and would appropriately chastise himself for ever considering it.

Giuseppe Salvatore was nearly twenty years older than his wife, whom he had married when she was only thirteen, just before they had left Italy behind for America. By the time they arrived in Virginia, Gianna was already pregnant with Damon and Giuseppe decided Mystic Falls was the place to settle. Though he had never heard his parents discuss it, Stefan knew his mother did not like Virginia, that she missed Italy and the family she left behind. It made him incredibly sad to know his mother was never entirely happy.

The winter he was ten, Stefan nearly died of pneumonia. He had struggled to breathe for months, the sickly crackle of his lungs echoing in his room, and it had weakened him considerably. Damon came home from university and refused to return until Stefan was better; Gianna prayed rosaries beside his bed; Giuseppe summoned the priest several times to give Last Rites.

And then one morning Stefan woke up and his chest hurt a little less, his breath came a little easier, and he knew he was going to live. As he recovered, life at the Salvatore household returned to normal; Giuseppe began to spend more time in town managing his affairs, Gianna discovered she was pregnant again, and Damon decided to remain in Mystic Falls, eschewing the University of Virginia for running around town with George Lockwood.

Stefan wasn’t allowed to return to school yet; old Doc Gilbert said he was still too weak, and so, as the days warmed and the sun flooded his room, Stefan was forced to stay inside and watch the activities of the household through the windows.

Coretta, his nanny, only allowed him to come downstairs at noon, insisting on serving him breakfast in bed and encouraging as much rest as possible. By the time he finally was allowed out of his room, it took everything he had not to run as quickly as he could down the stairs to find his mother.

Gianna always took tea in the afternoons before walking the maze in the backyard. Stefan found her in the parlor, her six-month pregnant belly slightly concealed by the fabric of her dress, and he could not help the grin which crossed his lips. Her black hair was loose today, pinned back on the sides which only accentuated the bright blue of her eyes, and the smile she bestowed upon him was positively beatific.

“There’s my boy,” she sighed, setting down her cup, opening her arms for a hug. Stefan instantly went into her arms, inhaling the sweet scent of rosewater. “I have been most anxious for our walk. May I have your arm?”

Stefan immediately extended his arm the way he had witnessed Damon do, trying hard to maintain the stiffness required for Gianna to get to her feet. She ruffled his hair playfully, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

“I have been bored beyond measure this morning,” Gianna divulged in a stage whisper as they navigated the corridors. “I was quite anxious for your company.”

“Why did you not tell Coretta to let me out of my room then?”

“Because Coretta has been caring for children far longer than I have, my heart, and she makes you stay in bed because it is how you will get strong again. Coretta wants the best for you.”

“But you are in charge when Father is not here. You could make her – “

“I have no desire to _make_ anyone do anything nor should you. No one respects anyone who goes stomping around, making threats, and trying to use their power to intimidate.” Dropping an arm around his shoulders, she added, “And do not tell your papa I said that.”

Stefan dutifully nodded. “Yes, Mama.”

The gardens were in bloom, the scent of flowers heavy in the air. Gianna inhaled deeply and declared, “I believe your little brother or sister will love to be outside. The flowers smell especially sweet.”

“When will the baby come?”

“After Damon’s birthday but before yours. Why? Are you excited to be a big brother, Stefan?”

He nodded. “I want to be a good big brother.”

“You will be a _wonderful_ brother. Though Heaven help us if it is a sister you are destined to have for with you and Damon as older brothers, no suitor will want to come within miles of the house.”

“Do you want to have a girl?” When Gianna did not immediately reply, he added, “Father said he would like another son.”

The babies buried on the edge of the property had been girls, all of whom had been named Maria Salvatore.

“I will gladly accept any baby who will be as wonderful as my boys,” Gianna finally answered, plucking one of the brightly colored blooms and tucking it behind her ear, an explosion of red in a sea of black.

“Damon says I am too weak to be a big brother,” Stefan confessed, subtly hoping for his mother to reprimand Damon when he returned home.

“That was unkind of him,” she replied mildly, “but you worry far too much what Damon says. You must not take him to heart.”

“It is hard.”

“Oh, yes,” Gianna agreed easily. “It is quite difficult not to listen to the worst things people say about you, especially when they are being said by people you love so dearly. But Damon is much like your father: he allows his emotions to lead him.”

“Damon and Father do nothing but fight.”

“Because they are so alike, the way we are.”

Stefan felt himself warm at the idea. “You believe we are alike?”

“I know it! You are like me, Stefan: you dislike the conflict of it all, this life we lead. You want to please people and you want to keep the peace, and I understand that well. Damon and Giuseppe, they always believe they are right in whatever they do, and it makes it difficult sometimes to love them the way they need to be loved. But you must still love them.”

“Because they are my family?”

“Because everyone deserves to be loved, no matter what they say or do. You must remember that.”

Stefan nodded, not entirely sure if he understood what his mother was saying but certain it was important.

Gianna died three months later, buried with another baby named Maria.

 

 **2\. Katherine Pierce**

“Let’s have an adventure,” Katherine whispered at the breakfast table, a mischievous smile on her beautiful face.

Stefan couldn’t help but grin, his eyes flicking towards his father at the head of the table, before leaning forward and conspiratorially whispering, “What do you have in mind, Miss Pierce?”

“Meet me in the rose gardens in twenty minutes.”

Promptly twenty minutes later, Stefan found Katherine, her nose buried in one of the blooms, Emily standing nearby with a picnic basket in her hands.

“Are we having a picnic?”

Lifting her head to face him, Katherine declared, “Far better. Follow me.”

Stefan was powerless to do anything else.

They did not stop until they reached the pond separating the Salvatore property from the Lockwood property, surrounded by a canopy of thick, leafy threes. Katherine took the blanket and picnic basket from Emily before instructing her to keep watch, an order which puzzled Stefan considerably. As he carefully stretched the blanket across the grass, Stefan became aware Katherine was not removing food from the basket but rather two heavy towels.

“Katherine, what – “

“I have always loved to swim,” Katherine interrupted, pulling at the pin in her hair, sending the curls cascading over her shoulders. “Do you like to swim, Stefan?”

He and Damon had spent countless hours in the pond as children, playfully romping with the Lockwood boys. Stefan had never swum with a woman before; it was highly improper.

“Y-Y-Yes,” he stuttered, face flushing a brilliant shade of scarlet that had nothing to do with the 90 degree heat.

Stefan knew he should avert his gaze as Katherine undressed, dropping her gown to the ground as if it was nothing more than a rag, wiggling out of her stays with serpentine grace. He could feel the shameful reaction stirring in his pants, but it was impossible to turn away when faced with the most beautiful woman in the world revealing herself so unashamedly. Damon had given him a book for his sixteenth birthday showing women in various states of undress, but it was nothing like this.

“Do you intend to swim in your clothing?” Katherine teased, every inch of unblemished skin available for perusal. When he said nothing – unable to send a single syllable from his brain to his mouth – Katherine stepped closer, an almost predatory glint in her doe eyes.

“Do you need help, Stefan?”

He trembled as Katherine’s hands pushed down his suspenders, tugging his shirt free of his now-tented pants. Stefan stopped breathing as she skillfully unfastened the buttons, pressing her palms against his overheated skin as the garment fell to the ground. When her fingers trailed down to the buttons of his pants, Stefan finally found his voice, squeaking out, “I can manage, Miss Katherine.”

Drawing back with a smile, she ordered, “Do not keep me waiting,” before walking into the water, diving beneath the surface once it reached her waist.

Stefan quickly shed his pants and underwear, rushing into the water before Katherine could see the reaction her nudity inspired in him. He was submerged to the chest before Katherine surfaced, pushing back her dark hair away from her face.

“I love the feel of water against my skin,” Katherine confided as she floated on her back, her taut, red nipples pointing towards the heavens. “I would spend eternity nude if I could.”

An eternity of nude Katherine was the closest thing to paradise Stefan could imagine.

Stefan was not sure how long they had been in the water when Katherine turned to him and bluntly asked, “Why have you not asked to court me?”

“What?”

“Damon asked your father, you know,” she said as she lazily swam circles around him. “Giuseppe said no, of course; but _you_ …you have not even made an attempt.”

“I was unaware you wished me to do so,” he stammered, dizzy from following her.

“Oh, I was wish far more than that, sweet Stefan.” And then she kissed him, her mouth wet from the water.

Katherine took his virginity on the picnic blanket, her body atop his, the sun haloing her in orange light.

Afterward, as they lied entangled, the sun drying their bodies of water and sweat, Katherine drew patterns on his chest, her voice only mildly reproachful as she said, “There is nothing sinful about what we have done, Stefan.”

“The Church – “

“The Church is a bunch of men who know not an ounce of pleasure in their poor, pathetic lives,” she interrupted, her lips gently pressing against his tender throat. “God created our bodies, did he not? Does the Bible not say, ‘Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth – for your love is more delightful than wine?’” Playfully nipping his shoulder, she added, “Love is never wrong, Stefan, and you should never let anyone make you ashamed of it.”

Two months later, Stefan bled to death beside his brother in the name of love.

 **3\. Alexia Branson**

For his 150th birthday, Lexi insisted they celebrate in Rome, a callback to his heritage. Stefan dutifully purchased a ticket and arrived in Aeroporto Fiumicino to find Lexi waiting, a glittery sign in her hands reading _Buon Compleanno_! Stefan couldn’t help but laugh as Lexi quickly exhausted the handful of Italian phrases she had learned for the occasion before sighing, “Ah, fuck it. Come here, you!”

Stefan laughed as he pulled her into a bear hug, inhaling the sweet scent of her perfume. “In 350 years, you never learned to speak Italian?”

“In 150 years, you never learned it’s a bad idea to tease your best friend who has planned a truly awesome birthday for you?” she countered with a grin.

They gorged themselves on the finest of Italian food, finishing five bottles of wine between them. As they staggered through the streets of Rome, Lexi gleefully singing the lyrics to the irritating Spice Girls song which had been playing on every radio, Stefan caught sight of the Trevi Fountain.

His mother used to keep a drawing of the fountain in her rooms; as a boy, Stefan remembered staring at it, wondering why his otherwise practical mother kept the picture of a fountain in the Old Country. Once, when his father was in a good mood, Stefan finally asked; Giuseppe explained in the same mournful tone he always used when discussing Gianna that, when they first arrived in Virginia, homesickness had nearly crippled his wife. One night, moved by his wife’s tears, Giuseppe had crudely sketched the fountain from memory, presenting it to her in hopes it would assuage her pain.

Giuseppe gave Stefan the drawing for his seventeenth birthday; Damon stole it after they were turned.

“What are you doing?” Lexi slurred as Stefan began shedding his clothing, purposefully striding towards the fountain.

The water was ice cold against his skin, but Stefan was too warm from the wine to really feel it. As he splashed childishly in the water, Lexi perched on the edge, her giggles echoing in the silence of the night.

They stumbled to Lexi’s hotel an hour before sunrise, Lexi lamenting the fact she did not have a daylight ring, Stefan barely conscious. After double checking all of the curtains were secured, Lexi plopped into bed beside him, shaking her long braid free, the golden locks falling around them like a cocoon.

Stefan awoke with a pounding headache, Lexi groaning as he moved on the mattress.

“Ugh, stop making the world spin,” she grunted, smacking him hard enough with a pillow to make it explode with feathers.

“You were the one who wanted to try the cabernet,” he pointed out, rubbing at his face, shaking feathers out of his hair.

“Don’t try to be logical right now.”

“I think I’m still drunk.”

Lexi snickered, finally opening her eyes. “Mission accomplished…or, you know, however you’d say it in Italian.”

Stefan smiled. “I really missed you, Lex.”

“I missed you, too.”

He would blame the wine later on, but, in that moment, Stefan loved Lexi so much he couldn’t help but lean over and press his lips against hers. Almost immediately Lexi pulled back, shock on her face.

“What the hell, Stef?”

“I – I thought – “

“You thought what, after 130 years, we should give it a try?”

Wincing at the scathing tone in her voice, Stefan felt his eyes water in embarrassment. “I just…I’m so lonely, Lex.”

Instantly her face returned to its most compassionate, mouth twisting in pity. “Oh, Stefan…”

“I don’t want to be alone forever,” he confessed, the tears making their appearance, voice trembling in pain. “I can’t spend the next century like I did the last. I’m not strong enough.”

“Stefan – “

“And every time I get close, Damon ruins it,” he continued. “And he should, you know, because it’s all my fault but I _can’t_ …You’re the only one who’s strong enough to fight him, the one he can’t destroy.”

Lexi cradled his face gently in her palms, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. “I love you more than life itself, Stefan, but it’ll never be that kind of love. And you deserve the very best love you can have. There is a woman out there who will make you complete, who will give you everything you want, need, and deserve. But that woman can _never_ be me, sweetheart. It’s not in the cards for us.”

Stefan nodded, wiping at his cheeks. “I know. I just…”

“You’re lonely,” she stated authoritatively. “For what it’s worth, it gets easier after the first 150; then it gets _really_ hard around 300 but after that…It’s all about finding the person who makes you want to live forever and who wants to live forever _with_ you.”

“You found someone,” Stefan interpreted.

Lexi nodded, a girlish blush high on her cheeks. “And you will, too, Stefan. I _know_ it.”

Twelve years later, Stefan watched as his brother destroyed his best friend.

 **4\. Elena Gilbert**

She invited him into her house.

Stefan couldn’t help but feel nervous as he crossed the threshold of the Gilbert household, Elena’s smile warming his heart. It had been a very long time since Stefan had been invited into a house by a beautiful woman.

It was not because she looked like Katherine; Stefan was resolute on this point.

Elena made tea for both of them before settling on the opposite end of the couch, her long, straight hair falling across her face. He had watched her over the past few months, trying to divine what sort of person Elena Gilbert was; what Stefan quickly realized was he would never be able to know Elena Gilbert from a distance.

He could not remember the last time he had a conversation with someone that flowed so freely. Elena was funny and smart and _perfect_ ; Stefan couldn’t help but think of Lexi and her proclamation that he would _know_ when he had met the woman he was to spend eternity with. There was no doubt in his mind Elena was the person he wanted to be with forever.

It did not surprise him that Damon wanted her too. His brother had always been obsessed with whatever he could not have, and Elena was just the latest in a long line of women Damon felt the need to possess. Stefan was not concerned about his brother’s feelings for Elena; Damon had long since given up any hint of humanity.

The day he and Elena stood on the dock of the Gilbert lake house and she pointedly avoided the discussion of their future, Stefan began to suspect she did not want forever. He did not doubt Elena loved him; but, if there was anything Stefan had learned throughout his long life, it was love was not always enough.

His fears were confirmed after the sacrifice. They were standing on the bridge over the Falls, the cool spray misting back upon them, when Stefan carefully broached the topic of their future.

“I love you so much,” Elena said, her voice already trembling. “You know how much I love you.”

“I know,” Stefan confirmed, swallowing back the scream that was already building inside of him.

“It’s just…This whole thing with Klaus, it made me think about a lot of things. And it made me think about what I want for my life.”

“And it isn’t me.”

“No, that’s not it!” Fat tears spilling over her cheeks, Elena admitted, “I never really thought about what it would mean in the long run for us. Even after Isobel said those things, I still didn’t…I don’t want to be a vampire, Stefan. I thought that maybe I could be, but I can’t.” Lowering her face as if in shame, she continued, “I want to get married and have babies and just be…just be _normal_. I should’ve died in that car with my parents, but I didn’t because you saved me. And I should’ve died during Klaus’s sacrifice but I didn’t because you saved me. No one’s ever loved me the way you do.” Elena sobbed briefly before choking it back to grit out, “I wish I could love you better.”

Stefan pulled her tightly against his chest, hiding his own tears in her hair. They clung to each other before Elena pulled back, their mouths meeting in messy desperation.

Stefan hated that the last time they made love was filled with such sorrow and pain, but he also could not begrudge Elena her choice.

Katherine had not offered him a choice; if she had, Stefan knew he would’ve died a century earlier, a husband, a father, a _human_.

Elena married Matt Donovan on a Saturday in May when they were twenty-four; they had three children, two strapping boys and a beautiful girl who was adored by her brothers.

Her children called him Uncle Stefan.

 **5\. Caroline Forbes**

For Caroline’s 100th birthday, Stefan sent his best friend a plane ticket to Rome. He waited at the gate, a glittery sign that read _Buon Compleanno!_ Caroline took one look at him and immediately ran, dropping her carry-on and flinging herself into his arms, the perpetual teenager.

“Oh, I’m so happy to see you!” she cooed into his ear, the familiar warmth of her voice making Stefan’s heart swell.

No matter what, they always spent two days a year together: his birthday and hers. Stefan lived in Spain now, spending his days drinking sangria and occasionally working as a carpenter; Damon frequently declared his advancing age was making him maudlin but Stefan wanted a quiet life. He had settled in Spain seven years earlier, shortly after Elena’s funeral; she had been the last of his Mystic Falls family, outliving everyone else, and Caroline had been at her bedside when it happened.

Caroline spent the following six months in Spain with him, emotionally breaking down every few days as she realized the last tie to her humanity was officially gone.

After that, Caroline made it her mission to find the descendants of their loved ones and check in on them. She took classes with Tyler Lockwood’s granddaughter; she volunteered at the hospital Jeremy’s son worked at; she worked the counter at the organic market Bonnie’s grandson owned; she visited the museum Jenna and Alaric’s granddaughter was the artist in residence. Stefan was constantly receiving postcards from around the globe detailing Caroline’s travels and the status of the descendants of the people they had loved.

Elena’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were still very much a presence in Mystic Falls. Damon, who was living in the boardinghouse again, often spoke with affection of Elena’s great-granddaughter Tori.

“You can’t sleep with Elena’s granddaughter,” Stefan had stated flatly when Damon spent another phone conversation recounting a conversation he had with Tori.

“That’s disgusting,” Damon had retorted, his tone making it evident the thought had crossed his mind more than once.

Caroline chattered the entire way to the restaurant, gesticulating wildly as she told a story about some recent time spent in Australia; Stefan was quiet, unable to stop smiling at the energy Caroline exuded, made even more overwhelming by the sheer amount of wine she was able to consume.

By the time they made it back to the hotel, Caroline was leaning heavily upon his shoulder, her warm breath misting across his neck. As he carefully lowered her onto the mattress, Caroline kept her arms firmly around his neck, pulling him down with her.

“Care,” he chuckled, trying to gently extricate himself.

“I love you, Stefan,” she slurred sweetly, her eyes locking with his.

“I love you, too,” he replied easily.

“No, I _love_ you,” she corrected, using her strength to tug him down. “Don’t you know that? I _love_ you.”

Carefully keeping his weight off of her, Stefan sighed, “Caroline…”

“I waited. I waited until she was gone because I knew you wouldn’t love me back while she was alive but…I want to spend forever with you, Stefan.”

He couldn’t help but think of Lexi in that moment, of the way she swore there would be someone for him to love and complete him. Stefan had always thought she meant Elena, that Elena was the closest he would get to forever.

He had gotten forever with Caroline and he hadn’t even realized it.

Her lips were soft and yielding under his, his mouth swallowing Caroline’s sigh. They moved with the perfect synchronicity of two people who knew each other intimately, and Stefan couldn’t help but pause when he slid inside of her, cupping her face between his palms.

“What?” Caroline panted, a confused smile flitting across her features.

“This is forever,” he declared, wonderment in his voice.

She chuckled. “Well, _duh_ , stupid.”

And then there was no more need for words.


End file.
